The ocean dragged me down, its cold grip stronger than anything I could fight. I kicked and thrashed, but the more I moved, the harder it pulled. My lungs burned, my chest felt like it was going to explode, and my arms grew heavier with every stroke.

I couldn't hold my breath any longer. Water rushed in, choking me as I sank deeper. Seaweed wrapped around my legs, holding me like chains. I was losing the fight.

Then, out of nowhere, a hand grabbed my arm.

At first, I thought I was imagining it. But the grip was strong, pulling me upward with a force I didn't have left in me. Through the blur of water, I saw her—a figure swimming toward me, determined and fast.

She yanked me free from the seaweed and kicked hard, dragging me toward the light above. My head burst through the surface, and air filled my lungs in a painful gasp. I coughed, sputtering water, but she didn't stop.

"Breathe!" she shouted, her voice sharp and steady.

I couldn't respond. My body felt like jelly, useless in the waves. She didn't let go. Her arm stayed locked around me, pulling me toward the shore.

When my body finally hit the sand, I collapsed, coughing so hard I thought my chest would break. She rolled me onto my side, hitting my back to help me cough out the water.

"Stay with me," she said, her tone firm but worried.

It felt like forever before I could breathe again. When I opened my eyes, she was kneeling beside me, dripping wet and out of breath. Her dark hair clung to her face, and her eyes locked on mine.

"You're alive," she said simply, sitting back on her heels.

"Thanks to you," I rasped, my throat raw.

She gave a quick shrug. "Don't thank me yet. This is just the begining."

She stood and offered me a hand. "Come on. We've got to move."

She helped me to my feet, her grip steady, her presence commanding in a quiet, unspoken way. I swayed, my legs still weak from the ordeal, and she placed a hand on my arm to steady me.

"Easy," she said. Her voice was calm, but there was an undertone of weariness, like someone who had seen too much.

The silence stretched between us as I took a deep breath, then another. My mind was finally catching up to what had just happened. "You saved me," I said, my voice hoarse. "I thought I was done for."

Her gaze stayed on me, unreadable. "You were. If I hadn't seen you go under…" She shook her head, the rest of her sentence trailing off.

"What's your name?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly.

She hesitated, as if debating whether to answer. "Aris," she said finally.

"Aris," I repeated, the name unfamiliar but fitting her somehow. "I'm… Daven."

"I know," she said quietly, catching me off guard.

"How do you—" I started, but she cut me off.

"I heard someone shouting your name before… before it all happened." She glanced at the waves, her brow furrowing slightly. "It's been chaos since then."

"Wait," I said, grabbing her attention. "What happened? Where are we? Are there others?"

She sighed, her shoulders tensing. "There are others, but not many. And as for where we are…" She gestured vaguely at the endless beach and dense trees beyond. "I don't know. Somewhere far from help."

Her words settled like stones in my chest, heavy and cold. I wanted to ask more, to demand answers, but I could tell from the way she looked past me, as if scanning for threats, that now wasn't the time.

"Why did you save me?" I asked instead, my voice quieter.

She gave me a sideways glance, her lips curving into a faint smirk. "Would you rather I hadn't?"

"No," I said quickly, shaking my head. "It's just… I didn't think anyone would."

Her expression softened, and for a moment, I thought I saw something like understanding in her eyes. "You were sinking. I don't need to know someone to pull them out of the water."

I didn't know what to say to that. "Thank you, Aris. Really."

She nodded once, then stepped back, letting her hand fall from my arm. "Save it. We're not out of this yet."

"Wait," I said again, my voice sharper this time. "You said there are others. Where are they?"

"Further up the beach," she said. "A few of us found each other, but not everyone made it." Her voice faltered slightly on the last part, but she recovered quickly.

I swallowed hard, the reality of her words sinking in. "Do you think… do you think anyone I know could be—"

"Maybe," she interrupted, her tone firmer. "But standing here won't answer that." She started walking down the shoreline, her steps purposeful but unhurried.

"Aris," I called, hurrying after her. "What's your full name?"

She glanced over her shoulder, her expression unreadable again. "Aris Kael."

I nodded, letting the name settle in my mind. It sounded strong, like her. "Thank you, Aris Kael," I said, meaning every word.

She didn't reply, just kept walking. I followed, the questions swirling in my head louder than the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

Her steps were steady as we moved along the shoreline. The golden light of the sinking sun reflected off the rippling waves, casting long shadows behind us. The ocean stretched out endlessly to the left, its deep blue surface calm now, almost as if it were trying to mask the chaos that had unfolded earlier.

The sand shifted under my feet, soft in some places, gritty in others where tiny shards of shells were scattered. My toes sank in with each step, but Aris didn't seem to notice. She walked with a quiet determination, her gaze fixed ahead.

To the right, the jungle rose like a wall of green, its trees towering over us. The thick canopy blocked out much of the sky, and the deeper parts of the forest were cloaked in shadow. Tangled vines hung low, swaying slightly in the breeze, and the occasional rustle hinted at unseen wildlife. It felt wild, untouched, and strangely beautiful in a way that made me uneasy.

"So," I said, breaking the silence, "how long have you been here?"

Aris glanced over her shoulder, her expression unreadable. "Long enough to realize there's no easy way off."

Her words hit me harder than I expected. "What do you mean? No boats? No planes?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. At least, not that we've found. The others and I… we've been trying to figure things out, but this place doesn't make sense."

I frowned, looking back at the ocean. It was vast and empty, no sign of land on the horizon. "How did you get here?"

"I woke up on the beach, just like you."

"Was there… anything else? Wreckage? A clue about how we got here?"

She hesitated, her lips pressing into a thin line. "No. It's like we were just… dropped here."

The thought sent a chill through me. I turned my gaze back to the jungle. It was so dense, so alive, yet silent except for the occasional distant call of birds or the whisper of leaves swaying.

"Do you think we're the only ones?" I asked, my voice quieter now.

Aris didn't answer immediately. She stopped walking and turned to face me, her green eyes sharp. "I don't know, Daven. But until we figure out what's going on, we have to stick together. That's how we survive."

I nodded, trying to push back the wave of unease rising in my chest. "How many are there?"

"Six, maybe seven. You'll meet them soon."

I wanted to ask more, but the way she started walking again told me she wasn't in the mood for more questions. I followed, my eyes scanning the surroundings as we rounded a bend in the beach.

The shoreline changed here. Smooth sand gave way to a mix of pebbles and larger rocks. A cluster of jagged boulders jutted out into the water, their surfaces slick with moss. Beyond them, I saw the faint flicker of light—firelight, glowing against the twilight sky.

"Is that them?" I asked, nodding toward the light.

Aris gave a small nod. "Yeah. That's where we've been staying."

As we got closer, I could make out figures moving around the fire. They looked like shadows at first, dark shapes against the orange glow. But as we approached, their voices reached me—murmurs and laughter, tinged with exhaustion but alive.

Aris stopped a few steps ahead of me and turned back. "Stay quiet at first. They're still trying to make sense of things, just like you are."

The walk toward the fire was quiet, except for the crunch of sand and pebbles underfoot. The warm glow of the flames became clearer as we got closer, casting flickering light on a small circle of people. Aris moved with steady confidence, but I hesitated, my stomach tightening with every step. I wasn't sure what to expect.

The survivors came into focus one by one. The first I noticed was a tall guy leaning back against a large piece of driftwood, his arms crossed and his head tilted like he was about to fall asleep. He had a shock of dark, messy hair that looked like it had been styled once but had long since given up. His lazy expression turned sharp when his eyes flicked to me.

"Who's the new guy?" he asked, his voice smooth but carrying just a hint of an edge.

"Daven," Aris said curtly, not breaking stride. "And I found him drowning, so maybe save the attitude, Alec."

"Drowning?" Alec smirked, straightening up. "Guess he's not the survival type, huh?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but Aris shot me a warning look. I closed it again.

Next to Alec, sitting cross-legged in the sand, was a girl with bright auburn hair tied into a haphazard ponytail. She had freckles scattered across her nose and a pair of round glasses that glinted in the firelight. She was meticulously tying knots into a long piece of vine, her fingers quick and precise.

"Don't listen to Alec," she said without looking up. "He just likes to act tough. I'm Mara." Her voice was cheerful, but there was something in her posture—shoulders slightly hunched, eyes flicking up to the jungle now and then—that gave away her nerves.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound casual, though I felt anything but.

The next two were twins, sitting shoulder to shoulder like they were glued together. They couldn't have been older than fourteen, their skinny frames half-covered by oversized sweatshirts. The boy, whose sweatshirt read "Radical Dude!" in peeling neon letters, was whittling at a stick with a knife far too large for his hands. His sister, whose sweatshirt was just plain gray, was watching him with a mix of amusement and disapproval.

"Don't mind them," Aris said quietly to me. "That's Finn and Freya. You'll never see one without the other."

Freya looked up and frowned. "We have names, you know."

"Yeah, and we're not just 'the twins,'" Finn added, not looking up from his stick.

"I literally just used your names," Aris said flatly.

"Still," Freya muttered, her tone defensive.

The last person by the fire was a girl who stood a little apart from the rest, her back to the flames as she stared out at the ocean. Her long black hair was tied in a loose braid, and her arms were crossed tightly over her chest. She didn't acknowledge us as we approached, her focus entirely on the horizon.

Aris cleared her throat. "And that's Isla. Don't expect her to say much."

Isla turned her head slightly, just enough to glance at me before turning back to the water. "Hi," she said quietly, almost too softly to hear.

"Nice to meet you?" I offered awkwardly.

"Don't take it personally," Alec said, his smirk widening. "Isla doesn't do the whole 'people' thing."

"Neither do you," Mara shot back, tying off the vine with a flourish.

"Touché," Alec said, raising his hands in mock surrender.

Aris ignored them and gestured to the fire. "Daven's with us now. He's staying."

"Lucky us," Alec muttered, though there was no real malice in his tone.

I glanced around the group, feeling a strange mix of relief and apprehension. These were the people I'd be stuck with, at least for now. Mara gave me a friendly smile. The twins were already whispering to each other, probably plotting something. Isla didn't move. And Alec… well, Alec was going to be a problem.

As if sensing my thoughts, Alec leaned back against the driftwood again and grinned. "Welcome to the island, Daven. Try not to get yourself killed."

Aris rolled her eyes and dropped onto the sand near the fire. "Ignore him. He thinks sarcasm makes him interesting."

"It does," Alec said with a wink.